LETTER: Massive change versus real change

Having worked in the education system for 35 years, 12 of which involved an administrative role, I feel compelled to comment on the present situation in Nova Scotia.

Although the system has issues, it isn't completely broken and does not need a massive overhaul. It does need some changes, which should start in Halifax with the Department of Education, and work down quickly to the classroom level. Those changes will cost money, for the training and supports necessary to help teachers deal with the complexities of the modern class makeup.

The need for studies, reports and wasteful spending is long gone. It is time to listen to the teachers and what they are telling us about the problems they face every day. Not because it will be good for the teachers, which it will, but because it will be good for student success.

The rhetoric coming from the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union (NSTU) and the present Liberal government will not solve the problems that are very evident in our schools. The present leadership of the NSTU does not seem capable of protecting the rights of teachers in this province, which should be its number one priority. The present government of Nova Scotia has a strange way of showing appreciation for the dedication and hard work of many teachers and administrators who go to schools every day and try to make a positive difference in the lives of our young people.

I would say that the present shortage of doctors in our province will soon be followed by a shortage of young energetic teachers that are dedicated to the success of our children. Both the NSTU and the Liberal government will have to share the blame for this.

Something has to change in the climate of education before meaningful change in our classrooms will ever happen. That change is mutual respect, right across the broad spectrum. It includes respect for all the players. It must be earned and once earned must not be squandered. Unfortunately, at present, it only exists in isolated silos and is being eliminated at an alarming rate.

Collaborative cooperation involving students, parents, teachers, administration, central office, boards and the department, at whatever level, is necessary to remedy the situation. This would be preferable to a system that is confrontational. Learning should not be about winners versus losers, bosses versus employees. Rather, at the end of the day, all participants should be able to walk away with a feeling of accomplishment.

What doesn't seem to be appreciated in this province is the importance of the relationship between student and teacher that takes place daily when the classroom door closes and the curriculum is shared. All the bells and whistles don't matter a row of beans, compared to a healthy dose of mutual respect, love of learning and resolve to see people succeed.

my opinion, we do not need to go outside the province of Nova Scotia to hire an expert to tell us what is wrong and how to fix it, unless we have a political agenda. That is a blatant waste of much-needed taxpayers' dollars that could be used in our classrooms. Removing administrators from the NSTU and dissolving local school boards, while making headlines, appeasing those that have an axe to grind against the system and satisfying a misdirected political agenda, will not do anything to improve the situation. The present confrontational atmosphere in the education system is a tremendous waste of energy that could better be directed at improvements to help teachers address the impossible situations that they have to deal with on a daily basis. There is no room in our school system for mean spiritedness, stubborn people with their own agenda, or those that follow others blindly. Real leadership must emerge from this mess.

The NSTU has an agenda, as does the McNeil government. Neither is without fault. Both have dug in their heels. Meaningful change in the classrooms of this province, which has been needed for some time, will not take place without a change in leadership in both. That change should come sooner rather than later.